Carl Gruber -- a California pilot who pleaded guilty to flying 55 pounds of marijuana into Boulder in 2012 -- was sentenced to one year of work release this week for violating the conditions of his probation in the 2012 case earlier this year.

A judge also ruled Monday that Gruber, 47, will have to start over on the two years of probation he was sentenced to as a result of his plea in the 2012 case.

Gruber was first arrested on Jan. 28, 2012 after police searched his plane at the Boulder Municipal Airport and found 55 pounds of marijuana. Gruber pleaded guilty to one felony charge of distributing less than five pounds of marijuana in exchange for prosecutors dropping more serious charges, and a judge sentenced him to two years of probation.

But Gruber's probation officer filed two complaints in July in which the officer alleged Gruber was driving without a license, consuming alcohol and did not have a full-time job, all of which are violations of his probation.

According to a complaint filed on July 17, Gruber initially was going to complete the probation in California, but his transfer was denied after it was discovered he had two outstanding warrants in Washington for probation violations that were non-extraditable.

The probation officer said Gruber was required to find a full-time job and that he was a highly skilled pilot and mechanic as well as a construction worker. But the officer said in the complaint Gruber only worked part time as a handyman at the Days Hotel in Boulder in exchange for free rent.

According to the complaint, Gruber tested positive for alcohol after urine testing four different times, and was also warned not to drink too much water before his tests as some of the samples had to be flushed. Gruber told the officer he was drinking -- a violation of his probation -- because he hurt his back and was self-medicating because he did not have medical insurance.

In a second complaint filed July 24, the probation officer said an investigator saw Gruber drive away from a probation hearing at the Boulder Justice Center despite not having a valid license. Gruber claimed a buddy drove him, and that he initially got in the front seat to start the engine for his friend, whom he would not name. A worker at the Days Hotel also said he saw Gruber regularly drive, according to the complaint.

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